


What Strangers See

by LurkerNoLonger



Category: My Mad Fat Diary
Genre: Anniversary, Fluff, Insecurities, Jealous Finn, Jealous Rae, Missing Scene, POV Finn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-05-10 04:58:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14730404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LurkerNoLonger/pseuds/LurkerNoLonger
Summary: Rae and Finn celebrate an anniversary.





	What Strangers See

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this on a whim whilst sat on a stranded train somewhere in the Swedish country side. I guess tunnel fires are good for something.
> 
> My second ever fic. Originally posted to Tumblr June, 2017. Minor grammar and punctuation edits.

“What are you smiling at, girl?” Finn sets down their drinks and pulls his chair closer to hers before sitting down.

Rae turns to him briefly before looking back to the busy London street. “Just people watching.”

They’re sat outside, on the patio of some random cafe. It’s their five month anniversary and Finn had showed up at hers with a mixtape and an overnight bag, asking if she wanted to take a ride. He was all ready to make his case; argue that it was bank holiday weekend, that he had filled the back seat with crisps and water, that Linda and Karim were out of town anyway, his fallback being to confess just how desperate he was to have her completely to himself. Turns out all his careful planning to get his words right was for naught, and he was hit with a surge of pride when she said yes with zero hesitation. She’d come along way, his girl.

“See those two there?” Rae asks, as she nods her head in the direction of a boy and girl around their age stood outside a shop. “What do you think their story is?”

Finn looks at the shy way the boy looks at the girl, how his head dips to talk closer to her ear. His hands are in his pockets but his whole body leans towards her. “He likes her but she doesn’t see it yet.”

“How do you reckon that?”

Finn shrugs and takes a sip of his Coke. “Looks like us when we first started.”

“Oh, so he’s a dickhead and thinks she’s annoying?”

“Well _one_ of those things is still true.” Finn laughs as he pulls her by the neck to plant a kiss in her hair.

“Oi!” Rae pinches the flesh of his thigh before scrunching her nose at him and turning back to the road.

“Alright, Mr. Observant. Explain that.” She juts her chin at an older man wearing a shirt and tie with cowboy boots, carrying a large sack of kitty litter over one shoulder.

“Easy. Giving up his office job to start a cat farm.”

“Right,” Rae agrees. “Only explanation.”

They go on like this for a long while, making up random stories to match the random strangers passing by. Finn thinks a serious looking group of business people are actually MI6, scouting the area for a crooked arms dealer. Rae jokes that the squad of power walking pensioners are off to some underground seniors-only night club.

“Reckon that one in the matching track suit has a crop top and mini hidden underneath?” she asks seriously. That makes Finn nearly do a spit take as he chokes on his laughter, and he adds this memory to his mental file of ‘times Rae’s made him love her more’. (It’s a big file, even by imaginary standards.)

“Well girl, you’d know what that would look like wouldn’t ya? Old people peeper and all…” Finn trails off and guffaws when Rae slaps his bicep hard.

“I knew I shouldn’t have told you about that! Ugh now I’m picturing Mrs. Dewhurst all sweaty at the rave!” Rae covers her eyes and shudders a groan which sets Finn off again.

Finn points out a nervous looking man who keeps patting down his pockets and says he’s probably about to propose, and Rae thinks the look on his girlfriend’s face says the answer will be a resounding no. Rae clocks a handsome lad carrying a large stack of books and all Finn can come up with is that “Archie would find him well fit” and “should we get his number or summat?” Which earns him a giant grin and a kiss on the cheek from Rae.

A young bloke wearing trackie bottoms tucked in socks passes by, and they over hear him boisterously telling a dick joke that earns nothing but eye rolls and sniggers from his mates. Finn and Rae turn to each other simultaneously and say “London Chop!” in unison before they’re both in a fit of giggles.

Then Rae is slapping Finn’s shoulder with the back of her hand when she spots a “fucking Damon Albarn doppelgänger!” walking their way. She teases that he doesn’t need to have the talent if he has the face and pretends to stand. Finn pulls her back and chuckles like it’s no big deal, but by the time fake-Damon gets to them Rae is too distracted by Finn suckling her neck to notice. His arm doesn’t leave her waist after that.

When their food comes, they separate to either sides of the table and now their game has shifted to the other customers at the cafe. Finn tilts his head to one side to indicate a girl with long ginger hair sitting alone near them.

“What about her, reckon she’s waiting for a date?” His voice is low so the girl doesn’t hear.

Rae seems to stiffen a bit, before pushing her plate away from her. “Doubt it.”

“Huh, why not?” Finn looks over at the stranger again. She’s wearing a flowery dress and makeup, and her eyelashes are fluttering quicker than necessary as she continuously tosses her hair over her shoulder. From the girls at college Finn knows these are tell tale signs.

“Because she’s been eyeing you up since she sat down,” Rae explains, her head cast low.

Finn’s ears go red, because now that Rae’s said it he picks up on the way the redhead keeps glancing at him, sending him a flirty smile when their eyes meet. Finn clears his throat and looks away, his hand instinctively moving to grab Rae’s across the table. It’s not there though, and he frowns when he sees how uncomfortable she looks. She’s curled up into herself and that carefree attitude from minutes ago has drained from her sad but beautiful face.

The sight makes Finn’s chest hurt. There is no way he wants anyone else, she must know that. Fuck, he barely even notices anyone else anymore; doesn’t even remember a time before his vision was tunnelled by expressive eyes and dark hair and spectacular tits. Not to mention the fact that he’s so in love with her he sometimes has to wonder if he’s still sane. He hasn’t told her yet (the thought alone makes his lungs tighten and his fingers tremble) but, God, does he feel it. Once, when they were alone at the pub, Archie asked him what being in love felt like. Finn just shrugged and said “brilliant” because he wasn’t drunk enough to explain that it’s this all consuming thing in his veins that gets carried to his heart, only to be pumped back into every nerve of his body.

It’s scary, what he feels for Rae (and not just because it makes him agree with all the cheesy lyrics those Backstreet Boys sing). Terrifying, actually, because Finn doesn’t think he’d survive if she ever left (and he’s had enough of people leaving). So when he sees how rigid she’s gone, how her gaze has dropped to her lap as she readjusts her clothes, a strange thrill fills him because maybe she feels the same way. The same intensity, the same fear.

“Rae. Hey. Girl, look at me.” Finn wraps his legs around one of hers under the table. Rae lifts her eyes but her head is still lowered. “See that couple over there?” Finn asks, shifting his eyes to the right. Rae peeks past her curtain of hair to the other table and then back at Finn. “They’re playing the same game. What do you think they see when they look at us?”

Rae furrows her brow, then turns her whole head to look at the couple, who are indeed looking at them. She makes eye contact with the woman and receives a kind, wide smile. Rae turns to look back at Finn, but his seat is empty. She feels a presence at her side and shifts to see he’s pulled a chair right up to hers, his back to the redhead. Finn’s one hand reaches over to trail his fingers down her back, while the other clutches at her fisted hands in her lap.

“Dunno. Probably wondering why we’re together,” Rae mumbles.

“Yeah maybe...” His tiny pause is enough to see her face cloud over with hurt. “...they can tell that you’re WAAAAAAAAAAAY too good for me,” he finishes with a wink. Rae’s eyes roll back sarcastically, but they’re also sparkling and Finn’s so glad it’s not from tears.

He leans in closer, a hairs breadth away from her ear, his nose and lips brushing against her gently. “I think what they see is how fucking crazy I am about you.” He’s whispering but his voice and meaning are firm. Rae blushes and drops her gaze again, but this time she’s smiling.

“Such a sap,” she replies, half-heartedly pushing him away.

“It’s our anniversary, I get to be sappy!” Finn counters, his voice no longer hushed. He wants the whole place to know he’s celebrating with this girl, his girl.

“Yeah, and what’s your excuse every other day?” Rae teases, her finger making its way through one of the empty button holes on his flannel.

“Love,” he answers immediately. Rae’s stunned by that, and Finn’s a little shocked himself, but it was automatic and honest.

They stare at each other frozen, both guarded hearts growing soggy as they soak in the heavy word that’s just slipped out. After the moment has passed, Rae is still silent so Finn guides her face to his so he can kiss her until she feels what the strangers can see.


End file.
